Isaiah 58:11
The Lord will guide you continually…

Reflection by Tatiana Hoecker

In this passage, God is offering us an abundance of support. The verse goes on with beautiful words of encouragement: “…make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.”

I love that image… “a spring of water, whose waters never fail.” It reminds me that with God all things are possible; that, with God’s continued guidance, we will be strong and not broken and will always have abundance in our lives.

I have crossed the international bridge from Brownville, Texas to Matamoros, Mexico many times. I have walked through the large camp of asylum seekers and refugees waiting to cross into the U.S. Almost every person I have met has spoken about God being with them and guiding them on their journey to the U.S. They speak of God has if he had walked every step with them, took every bus, or rode every train: an unfailing source of guidance and support. However, God does more than guide them on their journeys, he also repairs their hearts.

Imagine the friends, family, home and community that asylum-seekers and refugees leave behind. It is a heartbreaking experience to not only leave one’s home but travel into the unknown with only God on your side. So, when I hear someone say “with God’s help” it is not just an empty phrase, but a call for guidance. And, as we see in this passage from Isaiah, God does not guide simply for guidance’s sake. God guides, and is guiding, us to a place of abundance. A place where individuals and communities thrive. A place where asylum seekers and refugees thrive. A new home for all whose “waters will never fail.”

As we near the end of Lent, consider these reflection questions:

  • How is God guiding you?
  • How do you use God’s guidance to repair your heart?
  • What might God’s abundance look like for you now and in the future?
  • How might God’s abundance include asylum seekers and refugees?

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After completing her Master’s in International Development in Barcelona, Spain, Tatiana worked for the World Mission Department for the Diocese of West Texas before working as a Consultant for Global Partnerships with The Episcopal Church. Tatiana has been involved in mission work for the past 13 years in Latin America especially in Honduras. She was selected as the Province VII representative on the Presiding Bishop’s delegation to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) in March 2020 and 2021. She is a Latina and for the past three years has been involved with the Episcopal Borderland Ministry assisting refugees and asylum-seeking families in Texas.

Get to know the Diocese of West Texas’ Refugee & Immigration Ministries:

The Episcopal Diocese of West Texas shares approximately 500 border miles with Mexico, along the Rio Grande River. Individuals and churches are responding to the needs of asylum seekers along the border, as well as individuals in local law enforcement, in a variety of outreach and pastoral care ministries. Learn more.